Means or appliances for use in the disinfecting of telephones



Jan. 23, 1962 w. ORRELL 3,018,337

MEANS OR APPLIANCES FOR USE IN THE DISINFECTING OF TELEPHONES Filed June 5, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 i 14 14a 20a 1 I Flt-5.2.1

I n ventor WALTER ORRELL 14 MBLJM' Attorneys Jan. 23, 1962 w. ORRELL 3,013,337

MEANS OR APPLIANCES FOR USE IN THE DISINFECTING OF TELEPHONES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 5, 1959 FIG. 4.

Inventor WALTER ORRELL A ttomeys United States Patent 3,018,337 NIEANS 9R APPLIANCES FOR USE IN THE DISINFEQTING 0F TELEPHONES Walter Orrell, 14 Frankby Road, Greasby, Wirral, England Flier! June 5, 1959, Ser. No. 818,342 Claims priority, application Great Britain June 11, 1958 3 Claims. (Cl. 179-185) This invention relates to telephones as conventionally in public use, and aims to provide a novel means of disinfecting eifectively at will such an instrument, without in any way prejudicially affecting the use of the telephone itself.

A characteristic of my apparatus resides in the fact that it may be applied readily to and-if and when desireddetached from the instrument, and a container holding liquid disinfectant under pressure positioned therein, or removed therefrom for renewal, by an unskilled person.

According to the invention there is provided a holder device adapted for association with the body or cradle of a telephone and incorporating means for holding a container of pressurized disinfectant with its release valve in communication with a flared discharge opening of the device, and said discharge opening being so positioned that actuation of the containers release valve causes a quantity of disinfectant to be discharged in aerosol or gaseous form into or adjacent to the mouth-piece (or/ and earpiece) of the instrument to disinfect same.

The invention is further described with the aid of the accompanying explanatory drawings in which illustrate, by way of example only and not of limitation, one mode of embodiment.

In said drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conventional telephone instrument with a disinfecting device according to the invention attached thereto,

FIG. 2 is a front elevation,

FIG. 3 a part sectional side elevation and,

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on line IV-IV of FIG. 2.

Referring now to said drawings, denotes generally the body portion or cradle of a telephone on which is supported the hand set 11 comprising an earpiece 12 and a mouth-piece 13. The disinfecting appliance comprises a holder component 14 which, in this instance, has parts 14 embracing the sloping sides 10 of the body 10 and inturned parts 14 for abutting the front of the body. Formed at one side of said holder 14 is a cylindrical chamber 15 having an integral and ofiset forward extension 16 wherein is formed a duct 17 which terminates in an enlarged lateral discharge opening 18 arranged to be in register or alignment with the mouthpiece 13 as shown most clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3 and constituting in eifect an expansion space. The chamber 15 is formed at one, its forward, end with a seating 15 (FIGS. 3 and 4) opening into duct 17 and at its rear end said chamber is screwthreaded (FIG. 3) to receive a screw-threaded cap or cover 19 wherethrough slidably extends a push rod 20 on the outer or free end whereof is formed or fitted a press button 20 A disc 21 is secured to the inner end of rod 20 by means of a screw 22 and a spring 23 biases said press button 20 outwardly and draws disc 21 against the adjacent inner face of the cap. The chamber 15 is adapted, on being opened by removal of cap 19, to receive cartridge fashion, a container 24 holding disinfectant fluid under pressure and which container is provided in known 3,018,337 Patented Jan. 23, 1962 manner with a release valve 24 arranged in this instance to be located within seating 15 and so communicate with duct 17.

Assuming that a disinfectant-containing cartridge has been placed in chamber 15 and it is desired to disinfect the mouth-piece 13 of the telephone, the button 20 is pressed whereby container 24 is displaced inwardly to actuate valve 24 and cause a puff of the liquid contents to enter duct 17 and travel therealong to the enlarged open end or expansion space 18 and so into contact with the mouth-piece 13 of the instrument to disinfect same.

Preferably, the disinfectant used will be such that it will be converted rapidly, on emission and expansion, into aerosol or gaseous form before reaching mouth-piece 13 which will thus remain unstained and unwetted or substantially so.

My device will preferably be made, as far as practicable, from one of the substances now commonly known and referred to as a plastic.

If desired, the actuating button 20 may be adapted to move the container 24 indirectly and be situated at a point other than directly at the rear of the chamber 15.

The appliance may, of course, vary in size and configuration in order to suit the several types of telephone instruments now in common use and any convenient holder device for locating the chamber 15 with its extension 16 in alignment with the mouth-piece of a telephone may be used.

A device or appliance according to the invention may, of course, be designed for disinfecting the earpiece of an instrument.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An appliance for use in disinfecting a telephone comprising a cylindrical chamber, a container of pressurized disinfectant having a discharge valve and slidably positioned in said chamber with the ends thereof adjacent the ends of said chamber, an extension on one end of said chamber having a flared duct therein in communication with said discharge valve of said disinfectant container and said duct terminating in an enlarged lateral discharge opening, means for connecting said chamber with a telephone body for locating said enlarged discharge opening in register with the mouthpiece of said telephone, a detachable cap connected to the other end of said chamber, and a push rod extending slidably through said cap for engaging and displacing said container within said chamber so as to actuate said discharge valve thereof.

2. An appliance for use in disinfecting a telephone as claimed in claim 1, wherein said push-rod is biased outwardly by spring means and is provided on its outer end with a press-button.

3. An appliance for use in disinfecting a telephone as claimed in claim 1, wherein said chamber for holding said disinfectant container has a seating at said first mentioned end opening into said flared duct and adapted to receive said discharge valve of said container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,766,333 Bivins Oct. 9, 1956 2,840,649 Hodges June 24, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 405,458 Great Britain Feb. 8, 1934 450,465 Great Britain July 17, 1936 

